Outlander showrunner on how long drama will last on Starz

Is Outlander going to be just like Game of Thrones? Are the writers going to stray from the books and chart their own course?

That’s what executive producer Ronald D. Moore was asked to explain during the show’s presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour presentation on Friday. No one, least of all Starz, has begun talking about an end-game for the popular series. But one reporter wanted to know whether the series — which is about to kick off its third season — plans to go for any many seasons as there are Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon. There have been eight novels, and Gabaldon is currently working on the ninth, titled “Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone.”

Moore seemed to suggest they may not make it that far. “I can’t imagine a scenario where we catch up to Diana [and her books],” he told reporters Friday. “She will tell us the end of the story.”

Moore — who was joined on the dais Friday by Caitriona Balfe (Claire), Tobias Menzies (Frank), Sophie Skelton (Brianna), and Richard Rankin (Roger) — also seemed to reveal when fans can expect the much-anticipated moment when Claire returns through the stones and reunites with her beloved Jamie.

When asked to explain why the writers decided against splitting up the mammoth Voyager book into two seasons, Moore said he “put the cards up on the board, and [there were] five episodes right there in the Jamie story and the reunion” with Claire. So it appears the print shop scene is happening in episode 5!

Tobias also spoke at length about the Battle of Culloden and how it doesn’t fit the traditional war scene. “It’s a nonverbal, strange kind of dance,” he told reporters. “As it always is with the writers and performers, we tried to look for an unusual angle, not a straight-forward fight. It’s a strange part-dance, part-fight embrace. It’s a fitting end to a peculiar, quasi-love affair.”